US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Wednesday to push for a ceasefire agreement, saying “the time is now” and warning that Hamas would bear the blame for any failure to reach one. agreement to stop the war in Gaza outside the country. floor.
Blinken greeted the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza who were protesting outside a meeting between him and Israel’s president, telling them that freeing their loved ones was “at the heart of everything we are trying to do.”
On his seventh visit since the last war between Israel and Hamas began in October, Blinken is trying to push through a truce that would release hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a halt to fighting and the delivery of much-needed food, medicine and water. Gaza. Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be released as part of the deal.
On October 7, militants launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping around 250 hostages. Israel says the militants still hold about 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 other people.
The war between Israel and Hamas has leveled huge areas of northern Gaza and famine is imminent for the hundreds of thousands of civilians who remain there. Nearly seven months of Israeli bombings and ground offensives in Gaza have killed more than 34,500 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe. On Tuesday, Blinken said Israel plans to open a key humanitarian aid crossing into hard-hit northern Gaza.
At the moment:
— Blinken urges Israel and Hamas to move forward with a ceasefire agreement and says “the time is now.”
— Lebanese Christian leader says Hezbollah’s fight with Israel has harmed Lebanon.
— Police clear pro-Palestinian protesters from Columbia University as clashes erupt at UCLA.
— A Portuguese-flagged ship is hit in the Arabian Sea, raising concerns about the capabilities of Houthi rebels.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Here are the latest:
TEL AVIV, Israel —An Israeli court has released the sister of Hamas’ top leader to house arrest after she was indicted for incitement and identification with a terrorist group, Israeli media reported.
The sister of Hamas supreme leader Ismail Haniyeh, Sabah Haniyeh, 57, was born in Gaza but has Israeli citizenship and lives in southern Israel. She was arrested in early April and charged on April 21.
Haniyeh was released to house arrest on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, she sent several messages praising the October 7 attack to WhatsApp groups that appear to include members of the extended Haniyeh family.
Previously, human rights groups have accused Israel of suppressing Palestinian expression online during the war. Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli authorities, fired by Israeli employers and expelled from Israeli schools for online speech deemed incendiary, rights groups say.
Israel is currently holding negotiations mediated by the US, Egypt and Qatar to try to free dozens of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a ceasefire in the war that has lasted almost 7 months.
Ismail Haniyeh lives in exile in Qatar.
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says his country has decided to formally join the legal process alleging genocide brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Indonesian counterpart Retno Marsudi in Ankara, Fidan said Turkey would submit an official request to intervene in the case against Israel at the ICJ after completing the procedures. He did not give a deadline.
“We hope that with this step the proceedings at the International Court of Justice will move in the right direction,” Fidan said.
South Africa has filed a case at the ICJ accusing Israel of violating the United Nations Genocide Convention with its military offensive against Hamas. Israel vehemently denies that its military campaign in Gaza constitutes a violation of the Genocide Convention.
Turkey is among the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza. The Turkish President described Israel’s actions as war crimes and genocide, while stating that the militant group Hamas, considered a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States and the European Union, is fighting for the liberation of its lands and of your people.
CAIRO — A leaked proposal detailing an emerging ceasefire agreement would include an Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in exchange for a planned release of hostages.
The proposal, confirmed Wednesday by an Egyptian official and a Hamas official, sheds light on the thorny details being worked out in an attempt to secure the deal. The details were first reported by Al-Akhbar, a Lebanese newspaper close to Hamas and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Under the proposal, Hamas would release female civilian hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners during the first week of an initial 40-day phase of the deal.
After this first batch, Israeli troops would withdraw from a coastal road and head east to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid and allow displaced civilians to return to their homes in northern Gaza. Hamas would also provide a list of hostages who were still alive during this period.
In the third week, both sides would begin indirect negotiations aimed at restoring permanent calm. Three weeks after the start of the first phase, Israeli troops would withdraw from central Gaza.
The second six-week phase would finalize preparations for a permanent calm, the release of all remaining hostages, both civilians and soldiers, held by Hamas, in exchange for more Palestinian prisoners. The hostage soldiers will not be released before the calm begins.
The third and final phase would include the release of the remains of hostages held in Gaza, more prisoners held by Israel and the start of a five-year reconstruction plan. The plan says Hamas would agree not to rebuild its military arsenal.
Hamas said on Wednesday it wanted clarity from Egyptian mediators on certain terms of the deal, specifically on the unconditional return of displaced people to northern Gaza and assurances that the second phase will include a full withdrawal of all Israeli troops from Gaza.
The Egyptian and Hamas officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing behind-the-scenes negotiations.
—-
By Samy Magdy, Associated Press Writer
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken greeted families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza who were protesting outside a meeting he held Wednesday with Israel’s president.
Blinken briefly greeted several dozen protesters calling for an immediate agreement to release hostages on the sidewalk outside a Tel Aviv hotel. Previously, he met families of Americans held captive by Hamas.
Shouting “SOS, USA, only you can save the day” and “In Blinken we trust, bring them home,” protesters urged Blinken to present his case to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his War Cabinet.
Blinken told them that freeing their loved ones was “at the heart of everything we’re trying to do.”
In its October 7 attack, Hamas killed 1,200 people and took around 250 captives. About 100 were released in a November truce. Hamas and other militant groups still detain 100 people, as well as the remains of 30 more, according to Israeli authorities.
Blinken is in the region to try to pressure Israel and Hamas to agree to a ceasefire deal that could bring a pause to the nearly seven-month war and free some of the remaining hostages. An emerging agreement provides for the release of 33 hostages in a first phase lasting six weeks, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
CAIRO — Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that the bodies of 33 people killed in Israeli strikes had been taken to local hospitals in the past 24 hours. Hospitals also received 57 injured people, the daily report said.
This brings the total number of Palestinians killed in the war between Israel and Hamas to at least 34,568, the ministry said, and 77,765 injured.
The Ministry of Health does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its calculations, but says that women and children represent around two-thirds of those killed.
The Israeli military claims to have killed 13,000 militants, without providing evidence to support the claim.
CAIRO, Egypt — Hamas has asked Egyptian and Qatari mediators to clarify the terms of the latest ceasefire proposal being discussed as part of negotiations with Israel, an Egyptian official said Wednesday.
The official, who has close ties to the talks and spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss the deal, said Hamas wants clear terms for the unconditional return of people displaced to northern Gaza and to ensure that the second phase of the deal will include discussion of the gradual and complete withdrawal of all Israeli troops from the entire Gaza Strip.
The official said the current agreement did not fully explain who would be allowed to return to the north and how that would be decided.
It was unclear whether Hamas’ demand for clarity would delay progress on the deal that is emerging from some of the first serious rounds of negotiations between the parties in months. Israel and Hamas have been far apart on the fundamental question of whether the war will eventually end as part of a later phase of the agreement.
The emerging phased deal includes the release of 33 civilian hostages and patients held by militants in exchange for a halt to fighting and the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli prisons.
___
AP Writer Samy Magdy contributed to this report.
TEL AVIV, Israel — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli leaders Wednesday, telling the country’s ceremonial president that “the time is now” for a ceasefire agreement.
Blinken blamed Hamas for any delays in launching a deal.
“We are determined to achieve a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to do it now, and the only reason that would not be achieved is because of Hamas,” he said.
Blinken visited top regional leaders in Saudi Arabia and Jordan before arriving in Israel. He met Israeli President Isaac Herzog and would later meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. According to the State Department, he will also meet with the families of the hostages and will also visit an Israeli port where aid arrives to be sent to Gaza.
The emerging agreement between Israel and Hamas appears to be gaining traction, but there remains a fundamental point of contention over whether the war will end as part of the deal, a demand that Hamas has maintained and that Israel rejects.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
